Put A Lid On It

Revelation 20 describes the binding of Satan and his exile to the abyss. He was bound so Christ can spoil his “vessels.” He was sent to the place of legless creeping things. He was put under a lid, and will stay there until the final judgment, when he will be released for a short time, so he can be exposed and destroyed. [1]

In Zechariah 5, the wicked woman (Israel’s old idolatry) is put under a lid in a counterfeit Ark of the Covenant. Instead of a lid of solid gold (light), it is a lid of solid lead (darkness). She was exiled throughout the Restoration era until we see her riding the beast in the Revelation. She was released for a short time, exposed and destroyed.

The Bible begins with Adam, Eve and the serpent and ends with the false prophet (Herods), the harlot (Herodian worship construct) and the Sea beast (a corrupted Roman guardian).

My question is, Revelation 20 shows the (real) Beast put under a lid so that a resurrected Israel (the church) is free to minister to the nations. Zechariah shows the Harlot put under a lid so that a resurrected Israel (Ezra’s people) is free to minister to the nations.

Tracking back in time, when did we see the original False Prophet put under a lid? I can’t believe there isn’t an instance in Israel’s earlier history that qualifies.

There are distinct requirements:

He is not a literal man but a counterfeit system of thought

He is symbolically incarcerated (in a vision?)

His incarceration allows a new Tabernacle/Temple to be built

His incarceration frees Israel to minister in a new, more mature, way

His release is only so he can be exposed and destroyed

Due to the repeated structures in the Bible, I can think of a number of contenders, but this false Adam-symbol really needs to be a an Adam, ie. a Hebrew/Jew, a corrupt “man” standing before God as mediator.

The beast was exiled to the abyss, where he belonged. The woman was exiled to Shinar, where she belonged. I guess a corrupt Adam would be exiled to the dust.

Any thoughts? It’s probably staring me in the face.

(Aaron’s golden calf is the best contender I can think of so far. Ticks a lot of the boxes.)

7 Responses to “Put A Lid On It”

hey mike, well, i dont know. but thanks for the rev 20 thoughts, just what I needed. (literally, preparing a kids talk on this passage).
maybe Korah et al getting swallowed up by the earth, allowing moses to get on with his leading business?

Good thoughts, guys. Although the pre-exile kings didn’t involve ministering in a new way or a constructing a new house of God.

After some more thought, I’m inclined to think it was the Ark itself that went into exile (under its ‘kapporet’ lid) when stolen by the Philistines. When it went, it deposed the priesthood of Eli. It was in exile for the entire reign of Saul (priest and king = bad Adam) and when it returned it enabled the beginning of Temple worship which lasted exactly 1000 years.

Okay, maybe I need to leave more of an explanation than one word. Nimrod was originally a mighty hunter before God (not really a prophet though). Hunters are by nature wanderers, but he does an about face and settles down and makes cities to consolidate power, representing humanism or “the world”, in opposition to God. His big power play is the tower of Babel, then God puts the lid on it by confusing the languages, or as Jordan might say splitting humanism into the different religions (I could be falsely interpreting Jordan). This allows Israel and eventually the church to grow separate from any “united nations”. The lid is now coming off with the rise of a world united by trade and a growing monoculture, but this newly rising humanism will be finally destroyed by the successful discipleship of the nations. I’d think that the release of satan would be a separate thing after this takes place.

Okay, its a little outside of your original proposal in that it starts before there was an Israel, but the pattern is there (if extremely vague

About me

Mike Bull is a graphic designer who lives and works in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia. His passion is understanding and teaching the Bible, and he writes occasionally for Theopolis Institute in Birmingham AL, USA.